Changing Your Life
Month: July 2021
Watery Graves
Just 8 Minutes Drive…
One of the benefits of living in Camden, NSW, Australia is that we have in the vicinity a wonderful place to unwind and relax. Just eight minutes away is the scene below…
We are blessed to live so close to such a beautiful place and I have been down there many times over the years to walk, to relax and do other activities like, photograph, sketch, paint or read. Sometimes, my Wife, Susan will come down there with me as well to walk, sit and or Crotchet (an interest she has taken up in the last 12 months).
There is a Bike/Walking track (up higher) that runs alongside the river and on most days it is frequented by individuals or families to exercise or just have a leisurely outing. There are plenty of places along the 5km/3.1mile track for people to enjoy picnics, ball games etc, though during lockdown at present, the latter is/are not allowed.
Nothing seems to get people out to exercise like a lockdown, though. We went down there yesterday to get some exercise and there were quite a few more people exercising in one form or another.
The images in this article are all taken with a phone, however, over time, I have taken my DSLR down there in the early morning or late afternoon if there is something specific that I want to capture.
I’ve only started sketching down there in the past twelve months and I look forward to doing more. I’m quite challenged with the subject matter down there which is good as it will stretch me.
Here are some more images that I have taken over time.
One of the other activities I mentioned that I do down there was reading. It is such a great place to take a book. Often, I will take a book of poetry when I am going down there to sketch or paint.
All-in-all, I’m sure you will agree that it is a wonderful place to visit and relax and in particular, having a place like this so close takes on even greater value when we are in lockdown.
Till next time…
Written and Photographed by David Johnson
25 July 2021
Peacefulness Comes
Are You Aware?
I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog my love for walking and the reasons I enjoy it, namely:
- Exercise leading to increased health
- Idea generation
- Relaxation
- Listen to music, podcasts of Nature
- Time out to think
- Photographic opportunities
I’m located approximately 60km South West of Sydney, Australia and as I sit here today, we are entering week four of the latest lockdown, this time for the Delta strain of Covid-19.
Walking is a fairly regular activity for me and I generally see a few people out walking in normal times, however, as a friend posted recently on Facebook, ‘nothing spurs people more than a lockdown to take up exercise…’. As a result of the lockdown, there are many more people out exercising.
Whilst it is great to see more people out and about exercising, it’s a shame that it takes a lockdown to ‘spur them on’.
It probably goes without saying, but I carry my phone with me with to:
- Measure the distance walked
- Listening activities
- Photography
Today, I will focus on the photographic opportunities.
As we all know the ubiquitous mobile phone has become an indispensable tool in modern life, sometimes too much so. People seem to be slaves to them. One of its most usable features for me is its camera.
I have an iPhone 8 Plus which is probably getting ‘long in the tooth’ now, technology-wise and we will probably update them in the coming twelve months. There are better camera phones out there for sure but this one is doing ok at present.
The camera I would really like to be taking on my walks is one I haven’t bought yet as I have had other priorities. More on that in a later blog.
For the time being I will make do with the phone camera.
Taking up photography in the early 1980’s increased my awareness of what is around me in terms of beauty and design. Taking up sketching, drawing and painting I believe has increased my awareness even more.
Below are a few examples of the things that attract my eye as I go walking. When I go walking, I seldom see other people taking photos on their walks. I wonder if they are aware of the the beauty and design that surrounds them?
Are you?
Till next time…
Written by David Johnson
19 July 2021
Our Mental Fuse
Looking For The Light
Renewed
Tales Of The Unexpected!
Way back in the 1970’s, a television show called, ‘Tales Of The Unexpected’ hit our screens here in Sydney, Australia.
Tales Of The Unexpected was borne out of a series of short stories written by a master of the macabre, Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl was a British Novelist, Screenwriter, Poet and wartime fighter pilot. He also wrote many bestselling Children’s books. For more information on Roald Dahl please click on the link at the end of this article.
The TV show was my introduction to Roald Dahl and later searched for the books that the television series was based on (see below).
I read these books many years ago and they were thoroughly engaging. Some time ago I purchased another collection which had all four volumes plus eight more stories and for reasons unknown has sat on my bookshelf for too many years untouched. There is only so much time and so many books, I guess.
I’m in the process of remedying that now as I am reading the book from cover to cover. Some of the stories I have read before, however, there are a lot I haven’t. Just as they did many years ago, these stories leap from the page and hold my attention, tantalising me, drawing me into the story and setting me up for that ‘unexpected end.’
If you like short stories with a twist, I highly recommend you seek out the Author’s work. Some of the episodes are on YouTube and I’ll include the link below so that you can get a taste of the type of stories.
Till next time…
Written by David Johnson
9 July 2021
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tales+of+the+unexpected
Navigating The Reef
Communicating Creatively 